Sins of the Father
by xT-Zealot
Summary: When the past, seeking vengeance for a long-forgotten injustice, decides to come for Amiti, he must not only find a way to survive but to accept his heritage, his father's sins, and discover what the name "Amiti" truly means to him...as well as to others.
1. Bastard King

**Author's Note: **Well it's Mother's Day but does that mean that I decided to take a break? Bah, of course not! As had been voted on when I posed the question in _Tangled Spirits_, I have decided to start yet another fic with this one focusing on Amiti which is, later, to evolve into a Amiti/Karis fic. However, romance will not be the center of this fic as it is the troubles that Amiti will find in this latest journey! In fact, it's all the romance that's been going on with Matthew and Sveta that has convinced me that I needed to perhaps pursue something more adventureish to give myself some variety for my writing.

Now, this does not mean that I'm going to be abandoning _Tangled Spirits._ Far from it in fact as I do intend on immediately starting the next chapter and posting it in the next few days. There's only two to three chapters left that I really have planned for _Tangled Spirits_ so there's no way in hell that I'm just going to abandon it when it's close to finishing. This may mean, however, that if I'm in the mood I may decide to chuck a post in for this fic instead of _Tangled Spirits_ somewhere down the lane but the bottom line is this: _Tangled Spirits _is going to be finished even if it kills me.

Alright, let's bring the focus back on this. Amiti, as we all know, has proven to be an interesting character due to the circumstances of his birth, the lies that revolve around said birth, and the destiny that may be waiting for him as not only Ayuthay's king but Alex's son. I've read a couple fics concerning him and I thought I'd try my hand with him. However, I do not only hope to focus on Amiti and his heritage but, more importantly, I intend to focus on a past that had occurred thirty years ago that had set the stage for Dark Dawn in the first place.

A past, I think, that is slowly starting to be forgotten. I'll explain more at the end but for now, let's get this one started!

Xxxxxxxx

_ As the breeze blew his hair back and the cold air stung his face, Amiti was reminded a lot of Imil._

_ The icy landscape that greeted his eyes when he did a slow scan of the surrounding area was certainly similar. The ground was covered with several inches of snow which hid whatever soil and vegetations that was frozen beneath it. The houses of the town that Amiti found were the only things that weren't completely enveloped by the ice and they were the only signs that people actually lived in this white wasteland._

_ Of course, the people here were not like the ones at Imil. Imilians did not have scales for starters. They also weren't warriors. They were a weak, pitiful lot that were constantly at the mercy of the merciless environment. It didn't take much convincing for Amiti to abandon them when he had been presented with an offer to put his powers to better use. And maybe, just maybe, he would be able to enhance his abilities to further heights._

_ Speaking of which, the crunch of the snow behind him told him that one of his "partners" was approaching. He did not turn to face the approaching individual and instead kept his eyes forward as he patiently waited, listening to the crunching of the footsteps. They finally stopped right next to him but, again, Amiti didn't turn to look._

_ The silence that extended between them lasted for a minute and possibly two but Amiti made no sign of even registering the presence that stood next to him. He could swear that it was a full five minutes that went by before one of them spoke._

_ "Prox is very similar to Imil is it not?"_

_ The feminine voice told Amiti exactly which one of his partners came to him, her words making him think that maybe a few Proxians had mind reading capabilities. Now he finally offered a glance in her direction and saw the blonde hair that peeked out from the hood of her cloak. Her arms were bare and, like the rest of her people, her pale flesh had its own set of scales._

_ "Perhaps," Amiti replied. The image of beds filled with sick Imilians came to his mind. "But it's still different in so many ways."_

_ She did not ask for him to elaborate, instead getting right down to business. "Have you read through the scrolls in our library?"_

_ "Some of them."_

_ "'Some'?" Amiti felt her gaze land directly on him and he could imagine her red eyes searching his face. "I've heard you've spent very little time elsewhere. I'm actually surprised to find you out here."_

_ Amiti said nothing but knew that what she said was true. Once they had directed him to their quite extensive library, he wasted no time in conducting research on a quest that has now become his. The wealth of knowledge that he found himself pouring through was astounding; knowledge of past wonders, of present dangers, and a future of either darkness or light. What he learned in only a couple of days surpassed everything that he had learned from the teachings of his Mercury Clan._

_ He had already stumbled upon old texts that have allowed him to begin enhancing his powers to, what he hoped, would be far more significant levels. And from what little he had been told by his allies combined with what little he had read in the library concerning the mysteries of their quest, he may have the opportunity to obtain even greater power._

_ "So you realize why we need you?"_

_ Amiti held back a sneer as he was dragged from his thoughts with her question. There was something he had quickly learned about his new allies and it was that they were blind. All they wanted to do was save their village should they achieve success. Did they not realize the potential for more? The ancient tales spoke about more than restoration; they also spoke of godhood. At the very least he thought that such things would interest their other partner but, alas, Amiti was starting to have doubts about even him._

_ He was starting to think that they just didn't care about such things. That just made them foolish then._

_ Focusing on the question at hand, Amiti replied, "I do. You need a Mercury Adept in order to enter."_

_ "For one of them," she immediately corrected. "We'll be heading to that one first after we acquire the orbs. After Mercury there will be Venus, Jupiter, and Mars will be last."_

_ "Just in time for the big party that the village will throw in your honor," Amiti joked._

_ Nonetheless, the Mercury Adept found himself turning his head north so that he could see it. Extending as if to the heavens was a tower far off in the distance overlooking Prox. Amiti had seen another tower that looked almost exactly like this one and he looked upon it with the same awe and curiosity that he had felt in Imil. For years he had looked upon these relics of the past in wonder, curious about the ancient secrets and powers behind them._

_ This time he knew. Mixed with the awe and curiosity was a new feeling: hunger._

_ "Do you have family?"_

_ Curious at this new question, Amiti looked to his partner quizzically. "I have a cousin. Why?"_

_ "I have a sister," she explained and when she turned to him he could see the sudden fire in her eyes. "She is the only family I have left. I am not doing this for fame or recognition. I am doing this for her."_

_ Amiti nodded sagely but her words confirmed his previous suspicions: she was blind._

_ "The end of Weyard comes closer and closer every year," she continued. "The rift will soon reach Prox but not before that," she waved a hand towards the distant tower, "goes first." A bitter grin appeared on her face. "My people will know exactly when it's too late before we all die."_

_ "We only have Mercury and Mars Adepts," Amiti pointed out. "We need a Venus and Jupiter."_

_ "We have Venus covered. We managed to acquire one during our failed expedition to Mt Aleph. We still need a Jupiter Adept but…" she shrugged. "We'll have plenty of time to find one before we come to it…if we manage to retrieve the Stars this time."_

_ Amiti allowed himself to feel a bit of unease at that. He had heard about the expedition to the Sol Sanctum. Though he didn't know the details, he knew that something terrible had happened that left everyone except his two partners dead. But apparently they still came away with some fortune if she was telling the truth about having a Venus Adept._

_ "I'm sure we'll retrieve them," Amiti spoke though he said that to reassure both himself and her. "And then we'll head right to Imil though we should be careful; like the elders of Vale, the people of Imil do not think that what we're doing is the right thing and may even try to stop us."_

_ "What about your cousin? Wasn't she the village's healer along with you? We thought about coming to her to get her to help us in the first place but-"_

_ "Be glad you didn't," Amiti interrupted. "Your plight would only fall on deaf ears. My cousin strictly follows the old, if foolish, duties of the Mercury Clan and would most likely fight even her own blood to stop us."_

_ "The entire world is foolish," she spat. "They will call us villains and just sit and wait in ignorance for doom to fall upon them. But we will save the world regardless. And then they will see."_

_ "Indeed they will," Amiti agreed._

And so will you.

_ Amiti tried not to grin at the thought and, upon failing, he turned his head away so that she wouldn't see._

Xxxxxxx

_And so will you…_

When Amiti awoke, he was staring up at the ceiling of his bedchambers, his mouth having opened as if it had just been speaking the words. Or had he just mouthed them silently?

Slowly, the young King of Ayuthay sat up in bed and took a quick look around. As extravagant as royal bedchambers tended to be in your standard kingdom, Amiti's was spartan in comparison. There was the bed in which he sat upon, a desk off to the side with a few papers and a pen at the ready, and a clothes drawer with a mirror next to it. It was all that Amiti had needed when he had been growing up and, even when he had taken the crown he held little interest in decorating his room with expensive silks, jewels, and artwork.

Amiti examined what little there was of his room until he slowly nodded to himself, satisfied that he had confirmed that he was, in fact, in Ayuthay and not Prox.

"Prox." Amiti spoke the word aloud, rolling the name on his tongue as images of a frozen landscape and scaled Proxians who braved the elements came to mind.

The king rubbed at his eyes and that was when he took notice of the cold sweat that drenched his face. He used the back of his hand to wipe at the cool droplets and, swinging his legs so that they were hanging from the bed, he pushed himself off from the mattress and onto his feet. The cold, underground air brushed against his bare chest and face but Amiti, long used to it, paid no mind to it. Just as he was about to step away from his bed, however, he paused when he noticed the curved, sheathed Masamune that leaned against the furniture.

It had been two years since he had picked up that weapon deep within the ruins of Yamata during his quest with Matthew and his friends as they sought to end the Grave Eclipse and there were very few like it. When they had parted, Amiti had been allowed to keep it due to his mastery of the blade not only through physical prowess but through psynergy as well. The Masamune and several other weapons that they've come across like the Sol Blade, Slyph Rapier, and Umbra Knuckles all possessed special properties that separated them from normal weapons and psynergy was believed to be the key.

It had been Karis that had first hypothesized that Alchemy may have been as important to the construction of the weapons as hammer and anvil when they had been created though exactly when they were made had bred to some other interesting theories. Karis, again, would hypothesize – with the agreement of Kraden – that the weapons were in fact old and were another remnant of the ancient civilizations that had existed before the Elemental Lighthouses had been extinguished, making them as much artifacts as they were weapons. It made sense to Amiti as, when his hand had first gripped the hilt, he had felt a hidden storage of Mercury-based psynergy sealed within the sword. When in battle, this psynergy mixed and enhanced his own, making the Masamune less of a tool and more as an extension of his arm.

It had never left his side both before and after he became Ayuthay's king. As much as he had done so for sentimental purposes, Amiti knew of the dangers that came with the responsibilities of being a ruler.

Despite said dangers, he weighed the choices of bringing the sword with him or leaving it behind. As comforting as having the Masamune with him would be, he was only heading to the private bathroom to wash his face. It was only right down the hall, not a minute away and he would return nearly just as fast. What could happen during that amount of time? Still, in the end Amiti found himself picking up both blade and scabbard before belting it to his side. With the weight resting comfortably against his hip, he went through the portal at one end of his room, entering the hall.

"My Lord?"

The inquiry was made by one of the two guards that were, as always, standing outside the door to his bedchambers. Each were decked out in a full suit of steel armor, Ayuthay's crest displayed proudly at the center of their chest plates, and in each hand they carried a spear at the ready which served as perfect weapons for the cramp corridors that wound their way through Ayuthay's underground. In case they were needed, however, there were shorter swords sheathed at their sides. But other than steel they were armed with their dedication to uphold their sacred duty: that of the king's protection.

Amiti found it quite exasperating at times. Offering a smile and a nod of his head to the guard that had spoken, he returned, "Evelios." To the other he repeated the motion, "Borial."

Not only had the two guards been vigilant in their duty to protect Amiti's life for the past two years, they had been with Paithos five years before that. Lauded as the strongest and most skilled of Ayuthay's troops, the two were ferocious warriors not just separately but together as well. They've engaged Kaocho troops and more than once felled their share of the occasional assassin. During the nightmare of the Grave Eclipse, the two had even slain some of the dark creatures that had spawned from the shadows and managed to infiltrate Ayuthay's underground passages.

But they weren't Adepts. Amiti did not mean his next thoughts to be made out of arrogance but knew them to be simple fact. While Paithos had been old and ill in his final years, Amiti was still young, strong, and possessed a vast quantity of psynergy that had seen him healing the most grievous of injuries and defeating the most terrible of monsters and other opponents such as Tuaparang agents. If there was an assassin that could kill Amiti, he wasn't sure how well Evelios or Borial would fair against them.

However, Amiti had to admit that he was still human. Sleep was still a necessity so there was always the chance that an assassin could come for him in his sleep and he still required food and water so who knew what kind of poisons would cripple him and he would be busy trying to cure with his powers while an attacker struck. It was by this reasoning, and his respect for the duo, that Amiti allowed their duties to continue unopposed.

So he smothered what annoyance he felt at Borial's next words.

""Do you need an escort your majesty?" The guard took a step forward. "Would you like us to accompany you? Do you need me to retrieve anything for you?"

Amiti waved off the assistance. "I'm only going to be right down the hall, not a foot more; just want to wash my face."

But Evelios joined in on the insistence. "I could come with you while Borial remains here if you wish."

Amiti held back a sigh of exasperation. Two years of this and neither guard had ever learned to relax and simply let him go without any pestering. Again he knew that it was their duty but there was just the simple fact that the people of Ayuthay truly loved and respected Amiti and his family. Paithos had been a respected ruler and saw the kingdom through during its age of prosperity, the siege conducted by King Wo's troops, and the Grave Eclipse even when he had been at death's door. And of course there had been Veriti and the legends that surrounded her such as being a very powerful Adept who had not only been able to start the Alchemy Well but conceive her son with the use of her powers alone and thus passing them down to him-

There came a pang at his heart and Amiti suppressed it.

Of course, he knew of another reason why his life was treasured so by his people. With both Veriti and Paithos having passed, Amiti was the last of the royal family line. And with the two years having passed and Amiti having not produced an heir nonetheless chosen a fair maiden to act as his queen…he killed the thought just as its implications which made him so uncomfortable were about to rear their ugly heads. He already had too much on his mind right now; there was no need to add to it.

"That will not be necessary," Amiti continued, keeping his voice even. "If there is any trouble whatsoever I will call for you and I'm sure you'll be at my side in an instant."

The two nodded and it was Borial that assured, "As always, my Lord."

Glad to have the matter settled, Amiti went on his way down the hall, passing through the torches that offered the only illumination as there was no sun being filtered through at this time. The cold air brushed along his bare skin but, like before, he paid no mind to it. Though Ayuthay had two years to rebuild, the king was still restricted to the underground tunnels as being his home but that was due to circumstances and his decision alone. Amiti had decreed that he wanted the homes and courtyards of his people rebuilt first and then they could move on to rebuilding the palace. Yes, during the day there was a government building aboveground where Amiti spent his time listening and solving what may have come to trouble his people but during the night he was sealed away beneath the feet of his fellow Ayuthayans. He wasn't sure if many others would agree about these arrangements – surely this life should not be meant for Ayuthay's king - but for Amiti it would suffice.

Upon entering the bath, Amiti took one of the small water basins and filled it with water. The amazing stonework that allowed such stunning towers and courtyards to be constructed within the kingdom also allowed aqueducts that supplied water both above and underground. The construction of such ducts had been deemed necessary with the start of the Alchemy Well twenty years ago and overtime there has come to be quite a complex network. Cupping his hands Amiti collected some of the water into his palms and splashed it against it face.

The cool water both chilled and refreshed him but the young king still found his mind troubled when he thought back to the dream. That was not the first time he had dreamed of those frozen lands, far from it in fact, but this had been the first that he had been visited with something so…vivid. When he had first started having these dreams three months ago, he had initially thought that he had been dreaming of Imil. All that snow that blanketed the little village, the Elemental Lighthouse that stood proudly over it, there had been nothing to dissuade him from the belief that he was looking at the home of the Mercury Clan.

It had taken a month and a half later before he realized that there was something different about the Lighthouse in his dreams; subtle differences that made him think that it was not the power of Mercury that dwelled within its construction. Two weeks after that and that was when the Proxians started appearing in his dreams and Amiti knew the village for what it truly was.

But why the dreams of Prox? Though Amiti knew of the village's existence and its part that it played during the legendary journeys of the Warriors of Vale, he had never visited the place which made him wonder why he found his dreams filled with images of it.

_But those were more than just images this time._

The woman that he did not recognize yet found himself speaking with in a discussion of a quest that he knew to be long-since completed while a Lighthouse that had yet to be lit towered over them. The implications were startling and, yet, what else could he have been seeing? Strangely, the question of how did not bother him so much as it was the question of who. As he had just convinced himself, he was quite sure that he had never been to Prox before so who was it really that had been conversing with that Proxian? The one who had been so driven with such thoughts of ambition?

Amiti glanced down at the basin where the gathered water had finally stilled. His own blue eyes stared back at him while they were framed by hair that nearly touched his shoulders. An underlying mix of revulsion and disgust that startled even him was his response to the image.

Like her brother, Veriti's hair had been colored brown. When he had first asked his uncle why he did not possess any of his mother's features, Paithos had just easily explained it as a product of the Mercury-based powers that had been used when she had conceived him. Amiti, already believing in the lies of his birth, had accepted it without further question for the first eighteen years of his life. It was only when he turned nineteen and a group of young Adepts had found their way into Ayuthay that he discovered the truth.

The face that stared back at him belonged to a father that he had never known.

A desire to lash out at the image briefly passed through him but with the patience and control of a ruler, Amiti just calmly took the basin and emptied it. He had gotten what he came for, it was time to return to his room and resume his sleep. Preferably without any strange dreams this time.

Borial and Evelios stood at attention upon Amiti's return and immediately assailed him with questions about his errand and if he required anything of them. Amiti dismissed their questions with a wave of his hand and a verbal command of not wanting to be disturbed. Leaving them to their posts, the king opened the doors to his bedchambers and stepped inside.

It took a long, slow second after the door closed behind him before Amiti realized that he was not alone.

Freezing, one hand slowly going to the hilt of the sword at his side, the King of Ayuthay surveyed his surroundings, trying to spot anything suspicious. The hairs at the back of his neck prickled and Amiti unconsciously let his hand tighten upon the hilt of the Masamune when he grasped it. The same spartan furnishings that he had seen upon awakening were still there and as he examined them, he tried to find signs of anything that may've been disturbed.

The papers that had been piled on the desk remained where he had last seen them, not one page out of place with the pen lying undisturbed next to them. The clothes drawer was closed and the mirror stood straight and didn't even possess an awkward tilt. The only thing that was a mess was his bed, the blankets crumbled and splayed messily upon the mattress but that had been Amiti's doing, not some intruder. No matter how many times Amiti allowed his gaze to sweep over every corner of the room, he could find nothing that would tell him if there is, or ever was, an intruder.

Then why did he feel like he was being watch? Why was there a dark atmosphere that threatened the security of his room?

"All hail the bastard king…"

The Masamune was unsheathed and held at the ready as Amiti turned to face a far corner of the room. Despite having sworn that there had been no one there before, Amiti found himself staring at a cloaked individual standing before him.

"Identify yourself," Amiti spoke, his eyes narrowed. "Are you from Kaocho? Or just hired muscle that had accepted gold as a price to take a life?"

"My allegiances are my own," the cloaked figure replied, his voice masculine and most definitely male. However, a chill went up Amiti's spine and how threatening and absolutely dark it sounded. "While death will come for you soon, for now I only bring a warning."

One of Amiti's brows rose. "Oh? And what would this warning be?"

A sound emitted from the folds of the individual's cloak and Amiti recognized it immediately. It was the unmistakable sound of steel sliding against leather and the assassin unveiled a long sword. Unlike the cool blue steel of Amiti's Masamune, this man's weapon possessed a crimson blade. However, Amiti's senses could detect the work of psynergy coming from the blade and it radiated vicious, destructive energies; the complete opposite of the Masamune's calm but steadfast presence.

Amiti noticed something else as well. While he let his gaze linger on the deadly weapon, he looked down to the hand that grasped the hilt and the arm that it was attached to. Despite the darkened room and the cloak, the Mercury Adept's eyes widened when he noticed the scales and spikes that dotted the visible blue flesh of the assassin's arm. The assassin was a Proxian! And an impressive specimen at that as the Mercury Adept could see the large muscles at the biceps, triceps, and forearm while he only now noticed how absolutely _big_ the man was; being a good foot taller than him and possessing broad shoulders that made him absolutely intimidating.

"The past calls for your blood, Amiti," the assassin spoke in that dark voice before Amiti could ponder this revelation. "The sins committed by the father will now be paid by the son."

Amiti jerked at that and immediately knew that it was a mistake. Seeming to have succeeded in catching him off guard, the assassin was suddenly bolting across the room.

_He's fast! _the young king thought as the space that had separated the two suddenly vanished seemingly in an instant and the assassin was upon him. Amiti had no chance to bring his sword around in time to parry the thrust that came for his belly and he leapt to the side.

He was barely able to land on his feet before the assassin's blade was coming around for his head. This time Amiti managed to bring his own weapon up in time but, upon meeting with the assassin's, he grunted in surprise as his arms visibly shook from the impact and he was even forced to take a step back.

Fast _and_ strong. No wonder the few stories that there were of Proxians tended to be ones about their strength and ferocity in battle. Though Amiti took a step back to steady and better center himself, the Proxian made no move to rush in and keep on the offensive. Instead, with his sword held loosely at one side, his head cocked to another, the Mercury Adept had the vague feeling that the assassin was amused at this show of strength.

"My Lord! Is something the matter?"

_Borial, _Amiti recognized, his blue eyes looking to the door just in time to see it visibly shake on its hinges as a loud _bang_ echoed. He berated himself upon realizing that the Proxian had managed to perfectly position himself so that he was between the king and the door that led outside to his guards. No doubt the assassin had managed to take this opportunity to lock the door, delaying whatever help that Amiti would've been expecting.

His hands tightening around the Masamune in a two-handed grip, Amiti assured himself that he could handle this. A Proxian was surely a dangerous adversary but he was a Mercury Adept. What he couldn't accomplish with steel and muscle he could do with psynergy even if it was quite possible that the assassin wielded psynergy of his own. The strange energies that Amiti could sense within the assassin's blade sure made him wary and he was quite sure the stories had said something about _all _Proxians being Mars Adepts.

"You should probably surrender," Amiti spoke both as a delaying tactic and to perhaps even get the assassin to do just what he was saying. "They know you're here and the noise will probably get the rest-"

Reminding the assassin of the dangers seemed to get him moving to finish the job quickly which was the opposite of what he wanted. With that same incredible speed the man was on him again but this time Amiti was ready. Though the blow caused his arms to shake just like the first, Amiti managed to block the blow at his left side. He wished to take this opportunity to strike back but the assassin was already bringing the blade up over his head before bringing it down towards Amiti's.

The Masamune came up and the two swords were brought together in another violent clash. This time it was not only Amiti's arms that shook from the impact but his legs as well as the Proxian pressed down on him. His teeth gritting, the Mercury Adept stubbornly held his ground, staring defiantly at the shadows of the assassin's hood. That was when a heavy, booted foot slammed into his stomach and Amiti was knocked back.

He bumped into the mirror which tipped and then fell to the floor, the glass shattering upon impact. Outside, as if spurred on by the noise, the hammering at his door grew louder and Amiti could hear the loud commands of his guards that demanded the obstacle to be broken down.

Amiti was quick to recover but, like before, the assassin seemed to be in no hurry to continue the fight which was odd considering that help was a few good poundings away from interfering. Yet the assassin continued to approach him casually, as if taking a nice, sunny stroll and Amiti again felt as if the Proxian was just playing with him. The young king decided that this was no longer the time to keep messing around.

_Fine,_ Amiti thought firmly as he thrust a hand forward.

A blue aura briefly flared around the Adept and for once the Proxian actually came to an unsteady halt, suddenly wary. Amiti gave him no time to defend himself. The temperature in his room dropped significantly and the king could actually see his breath in a visible cloud the next time he exhaled. It did not bother him and, in fact, he allowed a grin to form from his lips.

"Megacool."

At his command, stalagmites made of ice appeared at the floor around the assassin and shot upwards, seeking to impale him. Though quick reflexes seemed to save him from the first couple, Amiti watched with satisfaction as the Proxian's cloak was torn as the stalagmites ripped through the article of clothing in their search for his blood and bones. Amiti couldn't see what happened next when the stalagmites overwhelmed the assassin, however, as he was suddenly distracted by the door to his room breaking open and a swarm of a dozen guards flooding into it.

"Your majesty!" Borial called as he and Evelios stepped between their king and the patch of icy stalagmites, erecting a barrier of steel and spear points while the rest of the guards surrounded where the assassin had fallen.

"It's alright!" Amiti immediately assured as he pushed and tried to squeeze through between his guards, wanting to see where the assassin had fallen or, if he wasn't dead, to make sure he was ready if the Proxian was even now getting back on his feet. "He's an assassin but I took care of it! Restrain him and take him…into…"

He was going to say custody but upon getting past his two guards and looking at his handiwork, Amiti soon saw that, that wouldn't be necessary. As the duration of the spell wore off, the stalagmites vanished, revealing what Amiti had managed to inflict upon the assassin.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And it was Evelios that voiced why that was.

"Your majesty, there is no one there."

Xxxxxxx

**Author's Note: **Alright so how was that? Not bad I hope and I also hope that this has also garnered some interest and ideas that you'll stick around to see what else I may pull out of my sleeve.

Anyway, time to come clean with something that has become increasingly obvious to me: I'm addicted to flashbacks. I can't help it. Out of the four fics that I've already published since my return…I don't think there's a one that doesn't involve flashbacks in some way, shape, or form. _In The Beginning_ didn't technically have a flashback but, then again, that was because the whole thing was a retelling of some of the events in the first Golden Sun game. And I think that it is in fact Golden Sun that is to blame.

Let's take a quick look back say like…ten years ago. I was about twelve years old when I first read the article about the upcoming game known as Golden Sun in the magazine known as Nintendo Power (Wow, do they even publish that anymore?) and I had been so enthralled with the promises and plot that had been laid out before me that I had immediately purchased a GBA so that I may play this RPG upon its release date. I played it, loved it, wrote terrible fics about it, then played Lost Age when it came out in the United States two years later.

Now it's ten years later since the release of the first game and now we have Dark Dawn. Let me repeat that: TEN YEARS. It was ten years ago since you played as Isaac on that fateful day in Vale (when there still was a Vale) and now you find yourself playing as his son who works together with the other children of these past heroes to follow in their footsteps. Other then Isaac, Garet, and Kraden, you don't see any of the old faces (excluding some of the old NPCs mind you) and I was actually a bit distressed by this. I don't think any of the old towns we've visited other then Champa have appeared at all due to the changes that have occurred all throughout Weyard. Dark Dawn could not exist without the previous two games and the lack of spotlight for a lot of the old heroes and memorable places that we've played and wrote/read good fics about was just a little upsetting.

Honestly I sometimes wonder about some of the people here nowadays. I mean I do believe that most of the people who read these fics have played the previous games but…ten years ago. Anyway, I believe that's the root of my flashback addiction and it's that I miss the old days and I'm trying to not only hit myself with a bit of nostalgia but reawaken some of this long-lost lore that we had loved and experimented with. And that long-lost lore, if you couldn't tell, is going to be serving a big part in this fic. Whether I'm addicted or not, there's going to be more flashbacks in this fic and with Dark Dawn's sequel being quite a few ways away, it means that I'm going to be able to experiment with my beliefs of what had happened with some aspects of the past and perhaps expand on it further.

Hopefully my experiment will please people instead of scaring them away. Lulz, I guess we'll find out sooner or later! See you when I get the next chapter up!


	2. Preparations

**Author's Note:** Alright so I was on a bit of a hiatus there. Real life problems, you know how it is . Had some inventory that kept me busy for a week, a little vacation to keep me busy for another, a graduation and family reunion that's coming up, and just a bunch of other stuff. That and this chapter was a bit of a pain to write. As you will see, this chapter doesn't exactly have a lot of dialogue and it was a little difficult for me to get my thoughts straight and type everything up.

But I expect this to only be a problem for this chapter. The following chapters will have more dialogue and things should get a lot easier for me again both irl and writingwise. Anyway, let's see what we have here…

**Smith Smithson: **Yeah about that chapter…it's here! Lol! Glad you enjoyed the start of it and I hope that it won't take me a month to add another chapter!

**BluSkyHeaven: **Haha, don't feel bad if you were confused about the flashback/dream sequence. Seeing if anyone would get confused with it was part of the reason why I had decided to switch out Alex with Amiti for that part.

**Mystics Apprentice: **I've only seen a couple Amiti fics so far that I've read and enjoyed with the top being _A Different Kind of Storm_ by Mystwalker. Yours seems to be doing pretty good though! I'll be sure not to disappoint as, like I said in the beginning, I'll be bringing a lot of material from the first game into this fic.

**Cstan: **It's been a long, long ten years . The Alex/Veriti/Amiti issue will be one of the main focuses in this story and I already have it all planned and everything. I just need to make sure to keep updating so that I can see my plans come to fruition!

Xxxxxxxxx

A thorough search had been conducted that night. Search parties had been sent into the tunnels but when nothing turned up, the search was extended to the surface. Unfortunately, despite the manpower that was committed and the number of citizens that were questioned, all the reports that came to Amiti's desk in the morning told him the same thing: there had been no signs of any Proxian anywhere in Ayuthay.

Disheartening to say the least.

Running a hand through his blue locks, Amiti checked the latest report which, to his dismay, was reduced to a single sheet of paper. It had been four days since the attack and while the first day had greeted him with a pile of paperwork as the initial searches were conducted – all which had been unhelpful of course -, every day since then had given him a pile that only shrunk more and more until he was reduced to what was currently held in his hands. While he hoped that this single and perhaps final report would give him what he wanted, he soon found that this wasn't to be. Frowning heavily, Amiti tossed the report to the side where it started its lazy tumble to the floor.

While not finding any clue as to the whereabouts of the Proxian that tried to kill him bothered him, what was worse to Amiti was that there had been no sightings of a Proxian – whether an assassin or an innocent traveler – anywhere at any point in time within the kingdom whether it be on the day during, before, or after the assassination attempt. It unnerved him for several reasons but the main one was the possibility that the Proxian had known exactly what he was doing.

If no one had seen him it could very well mean that the assassin had not needed to do any scouting and had somehow managed to acquire a layout of Ayuthay's underground tunnels. And with no guards having encountered any suspicious individuals during that night…the implications were too frightening to believe.

_Probably linked to his disappearing act, _Amiti thought grimly.

When the icy stalagmites of his Megacool had cleared, the Proxian hadn't been where Amiti had seen him fall. Nothing had been there in fact; no discarded weapon, no blood, not even a piece of shredded cloth. Considering that the only door leading out of Amiti's room had been swarmed and busted down by guards, there had been no way that the assassin got out. There was no other entrance – secret or otherwise – so it was as if the Proxian had vanished into thin air.

Though Amiti could not recall any such spells that would've allowed him to do it, he had to assume that the assassin had escaped with psynergy. All Proxians were known to possess psynergy and though the assassin hadn't used any during their duel, it didn't mean that he couldn't. There was always the chance that the assassin had learned some unique ability which could've assisted in his infiltration and escaped. Sveta's Slap and Spirit Sense were two unique spells that he knew along with Himi's Saearch and the Insight Glass that Amiti kept on a chain around his neck allowed him to perform one of his own. It certainly made sense as Amiti was known to be a powerful Adept so if an enemy wanted him dead, the obvious course of action would be to hire another Adept to do the job.

_But who hired him? Kaocho?_

An obvious choice but Amiti had trouble believing it, especially as Kaocho was a shadow of its former self. Emperor Wo's lust for war and conquest had been his undoing two years ago. Having assembled an army through volunteers and conscripts, Emperor Wo had assaulted Passaj and laid siege to Ayuthay in order to take control of the Alchemy Machines that were located within them. Unfortunately for Wo, Passaj was able to easily repel his troops due to its mountains and while his conquest of Ayuthay was a bit more successful, he didn't know about the underground tunnels that kept Ayuthay's people safe and secure.

The most devastating turn of events, however, had to be the Grave Eclipse.

When the darkness of the dreaded eclipse stretched forth over Ayuthay, the underground tunnels had proven to be a safe haven from the shadow monsters as well for the Ayuthayans. Not so for Emperor Wo's army and the invaders were simply no match for the infinitely-spawning creatures. Without the leadership of Kaocho's brother generals Ku-Tsung and Ku-Embra – both who had been defeated and captured by Amiti and his friends -, the army had been surrounded and completely decimated. Kaocho itself had been under siege long before that and with no army coming back to their rescue, the city, its emperor, and its people were overwhelmed.

As much as Amiti had despised Wo and his warmongering, that did not mean that he had wished to see the city and its people consumed by the Grave Eclipse. He still had nightmares of that day when he and Matthew had passed through Kaocho. Torn corpses that had been dumped into the streets and the buildings that had become ravaged with broken doors and blood-stained walls. It was the same sight everywhere they had looked.

How many had died? Amiti remembered asking himself that question time and time again. Considering Wo's heavy conscription for his army, there had been more women and children then men that had been living in Kaocho when the Grave Eclipse hit. With the shadows of the Grave Eclipse reaching across most of Angara and the monsters having no qualms about who they hunted down, the only grim result that came to the young king's mind was that every man, woman, and child that hadn't been able to seek sanctuary had been slaughtered.

As for Wo himself, Amiti still did not know even to this day as to what happened to the emperor. He had assumed that Wo had been taking shelter in his palace along with some of Kaocho's citizens but what spies Amiti had assigned to watch over the city after the Eclipse's end and his ascension to the throne came up with nothing concerning the emperor's current whereabouts.

Their emperor gone, their city a ghost town compared to what it once was, Amiti was still surprised to get reports that people still lived in Kaocho. He had expected whatever survivors that were left to have moved on or Sana's own Emperor Ko to have absorbed the land back into the whole of his nation. Even with two years having passed, neither happened and more and more Amiti was wondering why.

A concern for another time. As of now, Amiti found it very unlikely that the assassin had been hired by Kaocho. Even if Wo had always been a vain man and would probably love to see Ayuthay's king disposed violently by his hand if it was to be his last act, his mysterious whereabouts had Amiti searching for another suspect. The Tuaparang did come to Amiti's mind but he hadn't heard or seen anything from them since last crossing paths with their agents in the Apollo Sanctum.

Bilibin could certainly be another culprit though. The aggressive expansion of the McCoys had been expected to lead to a war with Morgal and though the beastmen had survived a lot better than Kaocho's citizens, they had still been weakened by the Grave Eclipse and it had long been suspected that Bilibin would've used this chance to declare war. They didn't and, in fact, their expansion had been put on hold for quite some time now. At first Amiti thought that Bilibin had also been weakened but with his entry into politics, Amiti realized that there could be a lot more to it than that; specifically Amiti's relationship with the Queen of Belinsk and Kaocho's current state.

It was public knowledge that Amiti was an ally and good friend of Sveta's and the McCoys probably expected the possibility of Ayuthay and, due to a treaty, Passaj allying with Morgal if a war was indeed conducted. Two years ago, when Kaocho had been on the warpath, that wasn't a problem as Ayuthay had to worry about sieges and Passaj had been repelling troops. Now that Kaocho was no longer around to keep the two honest, Bilibin could find itself outnumbered and outmatched if it wasn't careful. And there were the stories about beastmen that were able to control the very sunlight itself…

There were too many unknown factors that could make a declaration of war a possible disaster for Bilibin. So did they hire an assassin to eliminate some of those factors? If Amiti was to be slain, the search for a replacement ruler alone would leave Ayuthay leaderless and without direction for quite some time. With Ayuthay out of the way and, in extension, Passaj, the McCoys could continue their expansion without fear of any outside intervention.

As reasonable as it may sound, it was just a theory and all that Amiti could do was write down deployment orders to keep an eye on Bilibin.

With that out of the way, all that the young king had to do now was…well…ruling stuff. Other then reports of search parties and deployment orders, Amiti had a different stack of papers that needed to be viewed. Progress reports on construction, updates on the kingdom's treasury, trade agreements that needed to be signed, and there was even a note to remind him that an ambassador was on the way from Kalay and should be arriving within the next week.

As uneasy as the peace may be, it was peace nonetheless and all that Amiti had to worry about nowadays was to make sure that he still had enough foodstuffs for his people and enough money to not only rebuild what Kaocho destroyed but also to expand. His social interactions were restricted to his advisors and the occasional ambassadors, a sharp contrast to his adventuring friends and the monsters that they would have to dispatch. As boring as it was, Amiti couldn't complain; Ayuthay was growing larger and more prosperous then it had been two years ago. Between the activation of the Alchemy Well and Passaj's Alchemy Forge, the trade agreements, the threat of Kaocho extinguished, Bilibin's conquests on hold, and the friendly ties with other countries both human and beastmen alike, Ayuthay was on its way to a golden age.

And then the assassin. A _Proxian_ assassin. As Amiti took each report, carefully read them over, and signed his name – or left it to the side to review it for another time -, the thought kept pounding into his concentration over and over again.

His eyes trailing away from the latest treasury report, he instead looked to some other items that crowded his desk. To be exact, three maps that were carefully laid out on the side with a couple scribbles and notes written all over them while, piled on top of those, were about half a dozen hardcover books. The maps displayed detailed pictures of Weyard's continents while the first five books were of the Sun Saga. The sixth book was older; the cover broken and battered, the pages worn and torn, and one of the only books that had been saved from Ayuthay's library before Kaocho had burned it to the ground. Not to mention the only book that had anything to say about Proxians.

It was too much of a coincidence that Amiti would be having dreams of Prox with the latest and most vivid one having occurred on the same night that he was attacked by an assassin that happened to be a Proxian. And so he was turning to children's books and an encyclopedia that was probably older then all of Ayuthay to find any information he could about Prox while Ayuthay's brightest scholars sought to accurately locate where the village could be found after thirty years of Weyard's shifting continents. It was a problem that Amiti and his friends had encountered before when trying to discern the location of the Umbra Gear but Karis, the brightest of their group, had been able to figure it out in a day.

A large X that had been written on one of the maps marked the spot and Amiti felt like that one letter was taunting him. The young king couldn't lie to himself: he wanted to go to Prox.

But he couldn't. He was Ayuthay's king and his duties were to his kingdom and his people. Other than his attention being needed on construction, he had to be available if an emergency of any kind was to arise. Going to Prox was not only unwise but dangerous. There was a reason why there was so little information about Prox and it was simply that no one goes to Prox. Ever since the Warriors of Vale lit the Mars Lighthouse, very few – if any – people went to Prox. The ferocious reputation of Proxian warriors kept pillagers and curious travelers away and, from what Amiti had heard, any scholars that had wished to learn about Prox, its people, or the Mars Lighthouse had been flat-out rejected and even driven from Prox.

But he _needed_ to go. Whether it was to relive his adventuring days from two years ago, concern about possible hostilities with Prox, or just simple curiosity, Amiti felt a desire to go to Prox. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he felt as if this was something he had to do. The dreams, the assassin, and his parentage; they were all pointing towards Prox. There were answers to be found at Prox that weren't just about the identity or the intentions of the assassin. Answers that could put to rest the uncertainties that plagued his soul.

Uncertainties that had been with him ever since Matthew and his friends first came to Ayuthay. When the lies had first been revealed while the truth eluded him.

Amiti took a long, slow look at the gathered maps and books, then back at the reports that he had yet to read and sign. These were his options. He could go, find the answers he was looking for, and come back to rule as he should. It would only take weeks, a month at most. Or he could stay and continue to lead his people and rule as he was destined to, but all with that one question weighing upon his heart and mind.

Just who was Amiti?

Xxxxxxxx

If there was one person that Amiti had never wanted to displease other then Paithos, it was Charlotte. When Veriti had passed away, falling to an illness shortly after Amiti's birth, Paithos had been forced to handle the responsibilities of the crown. Charlotte had been Paithos's closest advisor and had been invaluable when Amiti's uncle was first settling into the role of king. She had been around for every major event that had happened in the last twenty-five years; the start of the Alchemy Well, Amiti's birth, Veriti's death, Kaocho's siege, the Grave Eclipse, Paithos's death, and Amiti's ascension.

These events and just politics in general had been responsible for the gray that has overtaken the black of her long hair. Though stern and dedicated to her work, Charlotte had nonetheless been a beautiful woman in her day. She still was in a way. Despite how she had more gray then black in her hair, her flesh having become worn, her eyes tired and sunken, there was nonetheless a strength to her character that allowed her to remain upright, shoulders straight, and her eyes to remain hard and searching for any hint of danger or opportunity for Ayuthay.

There had been suitors but she had never married and never had any children. She was simply too dedicated to her job and thought of married life not only as a burden but a complication that she did not need as she knew her lifestyle would be unfair to any husband or child that would come into her life. So when Amiti had been growing up, he had been the one and only child that she would ever place on her lap, her stern demeanor morphing into one of care and adoration when Amiti would stare and gurgle happily at her. He was probably the closest thing to a son that she would ever have and she the closest thing he would have to a mother.

But that wasn't saying much. They had been friends, perhaps moreso then most, but their relationship had never gone beyond that. Their interactions were few and, due to their duties, brief. For Charlotte there was always the politics concerning Ayuthay and the constant shifts and changes going on with all of Weyard while Amiti was to be properly tutored and trained for the day that he would take the throne.

However, he still felt guilty upon looking at the brown eyes that were now narrowed and the frown that was permanently etched onto her face.

"This is ridiculous," she stated flatly.

Straight up and to the point; Amiti liked that about her. She didn't tip-toe around issues like most politicians and instead attacked them head-on. That's probably why she had tended to butt heads with the other political advisors but right now Amiti found it as a relief.

"It is," Amiti replied as he went to his closet, picked the heaviest and warmest cloak that he could find, and then stuffed it in his pack that was already more than half full.

"In all my life there has never been a year, nonetheless two, where we've had such few problems," Charlotte continued. "Always a death in the royal family, always an expanding empire that threatens us with hostility, always a meeting that could give us even more enemies if we do it wrong. The last two years have been the most prosperous and peaceful years that both myself and Ayuthay had seen since before you were born. And now you want to ruin all of that with this foolish quest of yours?"

"There's certainly the potential if things go wrong." The Masamune was already belted and sheathed at his waist. Taking a standard Ayuthay dagger that was on his desk, Amiti unsheathed the weapon, taking a look at the reflective and unscarred surface of the blade, and then sheathed it before sticking that at his side as well. "I don't expect them to though."

"No one ever does. But then again I don't even know where you're going!"

"It's probably best that you don't."

"What am I going to tell people?"

Amiti shrugged and figured that this nonchalant attitude of his probably wasn't doing much good for Charlotte's nerves. "That I'm on a secret diplomatic mission. Isn't that the usual excuse that kings like to use?"

"And what if a crisis were to arise? What am I supposed to do when you're not around?"

"I trust that you'll be able to know what to do," Amiti assured and he was telling the truth. If there was anyone that Amiti thought was capable of handling Ayuthay while he was away – as well as someone he trusted so completely – it was Charlotte. "I won't be gone long. A couple weeks, a month at most. What could possibly happen in that short amount of time?"

"You have no idea," Charlotte replied and she actually hissed those words out. "I may not know where you're going but I do have my suspicions. This has to do with the assassin doesn't it? The Proxian?"

Here, with his hand on a batch of herbs, Amiti hesitated, wondering how much he should tell her. He was trying to keep secrecy not only because Charlotte would outright refuse to let him go if she knew where he was going, but he was worried about any leaks. Though he trusted Charlotte with his life, leaks happened and he didn't want the assassin or some Kaocho remnant forces to catch wind of where he was going.

"There's more to it than that," he finally replied as he shoved the herbs into his pack. "This is something that I have to do. Please at least understand that."

"I don't," Charlotte replied with that same disapproving flatness. "Especially why now? You are the last of your family and you're deciding to go on this adventure while you have an _assassin_ still alive and hired to kill you."

"He didn't kill me," Amiti pointed out.

"He didn't kill you that time," she countered. "You might not be so lucky if there does end up being a rematch. And you're not even going to have guards with you though I can't possibly understand why! You're not even taking a carriage or a ship!"

"Don't worry about my travel arrangements." Of course, if Charlotte did know about Amiti's true travel arrangements, she would probably leave and bolt the door to his room closed this instant. When he had decided to go on this journey, Amiti had sent a letter to a certain pirate king. Though Amiti and Eoleo had learned to get on friendlier terms during their journey with the Grave Eclipse, Charlotte would no doubt have a fit at the idea of Ayuthay's king being on the ship of a pirate.

Eoleo didn't know what Amiti was asking of him either. All that Amiti had written down on that letter was that he required a favor of Eoleo that involved the use of his ship and he would pay whatever price that pirate king named for this favor. Amiti figured that the gold – and having a king owe him one – would make this irresistible for Eoleo. That would, of course, depend on if Eoleo wasn't as horrified at the idea of going to Prox as everyone else seemed to be.

"At least tell me where you're going." Here, the flat, disapproving tone of Charlotte's was replaced with something else that caused Amiti's heart to twist: desperation and worry. "At least tell me that you're not going anywhere dangerous. Tell me that you'll be safe."

When Amiti turned to face Charlotte, he found her stern look replaced with the worry that he knew she was feeling and again he felt guilty. But he forced it down and, looking at her steadily, he said, "Charlotte, please, I want you to trust me. I want you to trust in the fact that you're the one person in this entire kingdom that I would never want to disappoint. I also want you to trust in me. We've known each other for so many years now and I know that you're worried sick, but I want you to trust that I know what I'm doing. I _need_ to do this."

Despite the assurance and his sincerity, Charlotte still looked as if she was being betrayed by Amiti's decision and the young king felt a stab at his chest. He had so few friends nowadays, true friends, and with Matthew, Karis, and the others being busy with their own families and duties, Amiti desperately wanted to keep Charlotte's regard. He did not want her to look so betrayed but again there was that need to do this that drove Amiti onwards.

When Charlotte slowly approached, Amiti wasn't sure what she would do. So when he felt her arms encircle him before she pulled him against her, he was caught completely off guard. Charlotte had hardly showed such affection and, lacking any kind of mother in his life, Amiti felt uncomfortable and downright strange with this contact. Nonetheless, he returned the hug, holding her tight and she, him for several seconds before it was Charlotte that pulled away.

"Just come back safe and sound," Charlotte replied as she looked down at him with sad eyes. "Please. For once I want to be the one to outlive a member of the royal family."

Swallowing against a knot that had formed at his throat, Amiti nodded in confirmation. "I promise that I will come back. And if this ends as I hope it will, I will be able to be a better king to you and everyone else."

That, at least, seemed to assure Charlotte. If only a little.

Xxxxxxxx

**Author's Note: **Like I said, not much dialogue and It was one of the reasons why it took a while to get this chapter up. But now that we got more of our friends coming to play (such as Eoleo), I don't expect this to be too much of a problem anymore! Well, time to get to sleep and think about the next chapter. See ya folks!


	3. Tools

**Author's Note: **This chapter was actually supposed to be up last night but then came one of our infamous summer storms and knocked out the power. I had hoped that Word had saved my progress like it usually does, but upon powering my computer back up and opening the file…all the work that I had typed up last night had been erased. Obviously I was a little mad and I lost all motivation to retype everything.

And when I did, I think it turned out to be one of those cases where the second draft wasn't as good as the original. Ah well, I hope this proves to be an entertaining chapter for my readers nonetheless!

**Mystics Apprentice: **Other than having an actual enjoyment with filling in the blanks as to what happened, there are not many fics out there that do that much to explain some of the effects of the Grave Eclipse and how it impacted everyone in Weyard. A couple fics that I have read haven't done this but I do consider it necessary when you're trying to set the stage for the events that is to occur in your story such as this one. The reason Amiti was willing to take on this quest was because the Grave Eclipse actually helped bring about peace instead of war for example.

I did some extra work on this chapter and I hope you appreciate that I managed to lengthen it a bit for you, lol. And from your previous review in _Succession_, I've finally been converted to capitalize Psynergy XD

**BluSkyHeaven: **If there's one thing that I consider important about not only fics but stories in general (whether they be for movies, games, or novels), it's the pacing. Don't just rush in there and have the heroes do what they do and be done with it but give purpose and an explanation of why they do it, why they're able to do it, and what this will do for them. When you have the King of Ayuthay that is willing to abandon his duties to find answers, you better give out some reasons why he would do so, lol.

llllllllllllllllllll

Eoleo had a large tankard, heavy with ale, at his lips when Amiti told him. When the name of the destination registered in his mind a second later, Eoleo needed yet another second to understand what Amiti had just said. But once he did, you had the usual reaction that one displayed when shocked. The stiffening body, the eyes wide with surprise…

…the ale in his mouth being spat directly into Amiti's face…

"You want to go _WHERE_?"

Amiti had his own container in hand but his cup was full of water instead of ale. Half-raised as if to take a sip, the young king instead rested it back on the table so that he could concentrate on wiping his face of the ale that had his blue locks clinging to his forehead while drops dripped from his chin. While he did that, Eoleo continued to vocally project his disbelief.

"Prox? Are you _insane_?" Eoleo smashed his tankard back onto the table that they were seated at, nearly knocking over Amiti's water in the process. "Why the hell would you want to go there?"

"It's complicated," Amiti replied once he thought he did a good enough job with drying his face with his sleeve. "Let's just say that I'm looking for answers and Prox may be the best place to go for them."

"No, Prox is the worst place to go!" Eoleo shot back. "Nobody goes to Prox!"

Amiti took a quick look around. Despite being in the mess hall, there was no one else except Amiti and Eoleo; the rest of the crew was up top and doing whatever pirate things they did while sailing that Amiti had no clue about. Which meant that both kings were alone which he was happy for as Eoleo's reaction to this plan convinced him that it may be for the best that the rest of the crew didn't hear about where they were going. Though Eoleo liked to boast about the loyalty that the men held for both him and his late-father, Amiti was nonetheless concerned that they might have second thoughts about going along with this venture.

At this moment, Amiti was starting to worry if Eoleo was going to rethink about the deal now that he knew where they were going. A day had already passed since they had set sail and it was only now that he revealed to Eoleo as to where he wanted to go. After making arrangements to be picked up near a point on Ayuthay's nearby coast, Amiti had traveled alone and found Eoleo's ship waiting for him at the designated time. After getting aboard, Amiti had given Eoleo a direction that would lead to Prox's general vicinity but, otherwise, had waited to tell him that they were in fact going to Prox. His reasoning was that if Eoleo had already committed a day to this, he would be more willing to keep on going even if he found out.

This may not be the case if Eoleo flailing his arms about while jumbled words flew from his mouth were any indication.

"We're talking about a village full of Mars Adepts!" Eoleo was still shouting. "Powerful ones! Do you not remember the story about the Warriors of Vale? Just two Proxians were able to give them a hard time! What possible chance do we have against them?"

"You're a Mars Adept," Amiti pointed out.

"Yeah, _a _Mars Adept. As in singular. As in me against a village kind of singular!"

Having long since put his diplomatic face on, Amiti calmly replied, "It's not like we're going there to fight them. We're just going to ask a few questions, that's all. The reason I pointed out that you were a Mars Adept is that maybe they'll be more comfortable to speak with us."

"You're forgetting that this Mars Adept is a pirate! A very famous one in fact! How do you think they're going to respond when they see the famous pirate king just sail up to their shores? I'm thinking fireballs. Lots and lots of fireballs!" Shaking his head at what he thought to be nonsense, Eoleo focused on chugging what was left of the ale in his tankard.

Amiti took this moment to take a deep breath while he gathered his thoughts. Well, so far Eoleo hadn't said no but he did have a point. Amiti knew full-well about the possible dangers of going to Prox and a violent reception from the natives was certainly one of them. But he believed that they had a chance and it was these beliefs he now voiced to Eoleo to try and keep him from the idea of ordering his men to turn the ship around.

"It's not like their interactions with the outside world have all been bad. They owe their lives to Isaac and the other Warriors for saving not only their village but all of Weyard. Surely they can't have forgotten that."

Yet again Eoleo had a counter for it. Shaking his head after gulping down the latest mouthful of alcohol, Eoleo replied, "Yeah, Isaac and the others saved the world. They also killed two of their strongest warriors that had been the ones saving the world in the first place. And this was thirty years ago! Thirty years with the majority of people in the world believing that the Proxians are the bad guys because Isaac had fought them! I'm not sure if Isaac's name would be a blessing or a curse to them now. Probably a good thing we don't have any of their kids around like Matthew or Tyrell."

Amiti was glad that Eoleo went back to sipping his drink because the pirate king missed how Amiti cringed at the last. No, they didn't have any of children of the Warriors of Vale with them. Just the son of a traitor. Now _that_ was something that could get some Proxians to throw a couple of those fireballs that Eoleo dreaded.

_"The sins committed by the father will now be paid by the son."_

Amiti suppressed the shudder that wanted to crawl down his spine as he remembered the dark words of the assassin those few nights ago. But it was those words that caused him to remain steadfast despite Eoleo's arguments. Amiti needed to go to Prox. Not only to find answers about this assassin but answers about…himself.

"I asked you to help me because I thought you would be willing to," Amiti spoke, his eyes narrowing towards Eoleo in a challenging stare. "If I thought there was someone that would be brave enough to get to Prox I thought it would be you. Are you actually going to deny my request?"

Amiti didn't mean to sound like it but his question made him realize how easily he was slipping into the King Amiti role. Two years and being able to throw out his authority had become second nature to him. And he thought he made a mistake when he saw Eoleo's jaw clench, the pirate's gaze meeting with his evenly. Nonetheless, Amiti kept up the staring contest, not going to abandon this quest so easily. He was surprised when a grin suddenly appeared on Eoleo's face.

"Good on ya." The pirate tipped his tankard in Amiti's direction. "Attacking a pirate's pride and hoping to win him with flattery. But you're mistaken when you call me brave when, really, I'm just crazy." His grin disappearing, Eoleo shook his head. "But there's a difference between crazy and suicidal."

Amiti felt his heart sink. "So you're not going to take me to Prox?"

"Well I didn't say that. With the gold you're paying me I'm willing to go the extra mile. Especially after you agree to a bonus; we_ are_ going to Prox after all, right?"

Amiti's eyes briefly widened in surprise at the grin that returned to Eoleo's face. But relief soon flooded through him and he held out his water towards Eoleo. "Right."

Eoleo tapped his tankard against his cup and the two drank as a sign of sealing the deal.

"I was actually surprised that you were able to get to Ayuthay so quickly," Amiti spoke up, now willing to go into more relaxed conversation now that their business was indeed concluded. "I expected at least a couple more days before you would be able to meet."

"Actually you managed to catch me as I was docking into Champa. It was just a matter of obtaining some extra supplies and sailing right out."

Amiti raised a brow at that. "Oh? And just what were you doing before my message came?"

Eoleo waved his hand dismissively at Amiti. "I know what you're thinking and, no, I wasn't looting. At least not that time." Chuckling to himself, the big pirate leaned his chair back and propped up his feet on the table. "Believe it or not I was actually doing another favor for another one of my royal friends."

There was only one person that Eoleo could possibly mean and the image of a certain beastwoman came to Amiti's mind. "Sveta? What did she want?"

A very broad grin appeared on Eoleo's face. "Oh, nothing special. The girl was just feeling lonely and wanted me to assist in someone's travel arrangements. Someone very dear to her and who she missed the company of."

That answer was obvious too. Shaking his head, Amiti probed, "Matthew?"

Their leader had been absolutely infatuated with the girl ever since the chase through the Teppe Ruins where the then-Princess of Belinsk had decided to reveal herself to them. At first, Amiti had thought Matthew's attraction to Sveta had been because she was a beastman. She was the same age as him, sure, but her exoticness was something that was a lot for a young man who was only now exploring the world and experiencing what it had to offer to take in. Certainly her royal upbringing would further add to the attraction when it had been revealed to them later.

Yet that attraction turned to mutual affection and then love. During Sveta's depression with what happened to her people with the Grave Eclipse, Matthew had spent the most time with her to help comfort her and help her get through her ordeal. And during the events at the Apollo Sanctum, it was Sveta's turn to become smitten with Matthew when he had been willing to die for her. Amiti had become more informed about the customs of beastmen during his kingship and this included the ones of courtship.

For a beastman, especially for a queen, their chosen had to be strong, loyal, and absolutely committed to their significant other. During their adventures and the Apollo Sanctum especially, Matthew met each and every requirement and more. It was only logical that Sveta would fall for him as he, her. Though Amiti had been worried about the possible complications that could come with not only Sveta being queen but Matthew being human, it seemed that their relationship was remaining strong. He just hoped that it would last.

"Who else?" Eoleo suddenly chuckled. "Actually, I thought that you may actually be asking me for such a favor."

Amiti blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Well yeah. I may have Champa to worry about but I do keep an ear out for news. Specifically the lack thereof concerning Ayuthay's king having yet to choose a queen. Two years and I'd think you'd have some kind of selection lined up for yourself. Hell, I thought you may be deciding to see Karis."

Amiti had been taking a sip of his water when Eoleo spoke that last bit. Upon hearing the name 'Karis', Amiti choked and immediately started coughing violently to the amusement of Eoleo. His face now having become particularly heated, Amiti looked up at the pirate king. "Why would you think Karis?"

"Come on, don't think I hadn't noticed during our little adventure," Eoleo teased. "You always spent the most time with her. Practically inseparable even. Almost like Matthew and Sveta in fact."

Amiti cleared his throat. "My time with Karis had been strictly on a friendly and professional level. I had been a bit sheltered due to my upbringing as Ayuthay's prince and she had seemed qualified to enlighten me about the world while we traveled."

"I hope this included the talk."

"The talk?"

"You know; the talk. When a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…"

"I already knew about that!"

"I don't know man; you had me pretty convinced that a woman able to conceive all by herself was the norm."

All Amiti did was mutter a very unkingly "Shut up" before taking a gulp of his water in an attempt to cool his heated face.

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_With only a small exertion of his will and power, the three orbs hovered in front of his face. Purple, brown, and blue, he made them circle one another as he examined them. To the naked eye, they were flawless, glittering stones that could be taken and used to craft some beautiful jewelry._

_ But to his attuned senses, he knew them to be so much more._

The Elemental Stars, _Alex thought in awe._

_ Even the ancient texts in Prox's library didn't have any information concerning the creation of the orbs. What they did say, however, was that the Stars had been the source of power for the Elemental Lighthouses and, thus, the source of Alchemy._

_ And yet they were so much more than that. What Alex held in his grip was not only the source of Alchemy but evolution itself. Upon their resting places within the Lighthouses, ancient civilizations had thrived on Psynergy and the knowledge that allowed them to effectively wield it. With Psynergy, it was said that those same civilizations held power over all of Weyard. The winds, stones, waters, and flames were theirs to bend to their will and, theoretically, they could shape the very world itself in their image._

_ It was such power that they held over the world that caused them to nearly destroy it. And it was the threat of such an end that forced a select few to take the Stars from the Elemental Lighthouses and seal them away in a chamber within the Sol Sanctum. They had thought that they were saving the world from Alchemy. In truth, however, Alchemy was Weyard's life force; it was only the misuse of it by man that was the real threat to the world._

_ Alex understood it. He only needed to stare into the orbs to see the pure essence of the elements to understand. It is only in the hands of the unworthy that, that purity becomes tainted._

I will not make that mistake, _Alex thought. _ When Alchemy is restored I will be there to guide it; to use it to shape a new, perfect world. My world.

_To do that, he needed all four Stars in order to reignite the four Lighthouses._

_ Four._

_ He only had three; Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury._

The Mars Star.

_ "It seems to have stopped."_

_ Behind him were his partners and he knew that they referred to the earth that had been rumbling beneath their feet ever since leaving the Sol Sanctum. After exiting the Chamber of the Elemental Stars, Alex had been able to use his Warp spell to transport them out from the Sanctum and to the outskirts of Vale. After getting some extra distance, they had decided to take a moment to recuperate and think of their next step. Even this far Mt Aleph still could be seen and a minute ago they had still been able to feel the earth shake beneath their feet. _

_ "I was expecting a repeat of our last expedition," Saturos continued. "Fortunately, this does not seem to be the case."_

_ "So it's possible that they survived?" Menardi questioned at his side. "That they yet live and possess the Mars Star?"_

_ Saturos nodded slowly. "If that guardian has not slain them then, yes, it is very much possible."_

_ The conversation caused Alex to think back to not more than twenty minutes ago. It had all been surprisingly easy despite their previous caution. Though originally they had planned to venture in themselves, the discovery that Kraden was making an expedition of his own to Sol Sanctum with his students gave them an alternative. Considering that Saturos and Menardi had already once failed at entering the Chamber of the Elemental Stars, it was thought that perhaps the old scholar may prove to be more successful._

_ To their surprise, an old man and three children managed to do what a force of Mars Adepts could not. And after they opened the way, all that the two Proxians needed to do was ask them to retrieve the Stars for them. Well, first they took Kraden and one of the students hostage and then they asked._

An interesting twist there.

_Off to the side, far enough that they were out of earshot, was Kraden and the student who were watched over by Felix. Circumstances had forced them to bring the two along in the interests of their quest and Felix wasn't happy about this at all. Though Alex didn't care what Felix felt, he had thought that the Venus Adept would at least appreciate seeing his little sister again and being able to catch up with her._

_ They seemed to be doing that right now in fact though it hardly looked as if it was going well. Upon seeing her brother was alive, Jenna had been shocked and relatively quiet. That seemed to have worn off, however. Though a good distance away from them, Alex could nonetheless hear Jenna's words as she screamed at Felix, tears streaming down her face. Her brother attempted to form words to defend himself with but he was quickly shouted down and-_

Slap!

Ouch, _Alex thought with a vague sense of sympathy as Jenna struck Felix across the face._

_ As amusing as this quarrel was, there were far more important things that Alex needed to focus on such as the current problem of not having the Mars Star. They almost had it! After collecting the first three, the two other students – Isaac and Garet he remembered their names being – had went to retrieve the last one. But upon taking the Mars Star from its pedestal, the entire chamber started collapsing!_

_ In hindsight, Alex probably should've expected a surprise such as that. Even after Saturos and Menardi had confirmed that Kraden and his pupils had managed to disarm the trap that they had accidentally sprung three years ago, it didn't mean that, that was the only one. He should've expected that the power of the Elemental Stars was what allowed the chamber to exist and upon removing them it would cause it to start collapsing._

And then there was that guardian, _Alex thought with the same touch of awe that he had just felt upon examining the Stars._

_ What Alex could best describe as a floating boulder with one eye had appeared, apparently having been awakened by the disturbance. Despite its unusual appearance, Alex had sensed the power that it possessed. Even with his growing abilities and knowledge that has allowed him to perfect the Warp and levitation spells, Alex knew that they were insignificant when compared to this being. He saw the proof himself when he felt that massive storage of Psynergy that it used to halt the flowing lava and collapsing rock that threatened to destroy the chamber._

Kraden had called it the Wise One, _Alex remembered. _Was that a creation of Psynergy as well? A sentinel that the ones who first sealed away the Stars had assigned to guard them? All that power, could it be a god? I have to know!

_"What do you think Alex?"_

_ Though Alex has always kept a mask of calm acceptance of their quest, for a brief moment he felt like verbally lashing out as Menardi interrupted the thoughts that he was so engrossed with. In such a short amount of time he had experienced so much, witnessed true evidence of the wondrous powers that he was striving for. And she was distracting him from them._

_ But he had established control for more than just his growing powers. Though irritated, he did not even bat an eye upon looking to Menardi. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. What do I think of what?"_

_ "Do you think the guardian had slain them?" Menardi asked again. "That rock must've been assigned to guard the Stars so surely it had decided to punish them since we got away."_

_ It was a valid question, Alex admitted, and he did give it some thought. After a moment, however, he shook his head. "No, I don't think they're dead. In fact, it could be very likely that it saved the two of them."_

_ "What makes you say that?" Saturos questioned._

_ "Because it had been doing that already." Alex tapped the side of his head. "Think about it. The chamber had been collapsing all around us because we were taking the Stars. If the guardian's purpose was to protect the Stars and slay intruders, it would've been easier to just let us die and take the Stars from our corpses. But it didn't. Why?"_

_ The two Proxians glanced at one another, looking thoughtful._

_ "I think there may be more to this Wise One then we may originally think. However, it does know that three of the Elemental Stars had been taken and it could very well be possible that he will use those students to get them back. It seemed to want to keep the chamber from falling apart and while it's tied up there, it may need some tools of its own to get the Stars back whether it be this Isaac and Garet or some of Vale's other warriors."_

_ Saturos scoffed, waving a hand dismissively at that. "It is a village of weaklings and we have taken care of those two before."_

_ Alex raised a brow at that. "You took care of them before?"_

_ Even Menardi was looking at her partner curiously. Then her eyes suddenly widened. "No, it couldn't be! I thought they looked familiar but you think it could be them?"_

_ "It had been three years ago," Saturos admitted. "But that name…Isaac…"_

_ Now Alex was curious. "Are they going to be a problem? What happened three years ago?"_

_ Saturos shook his head. "They are of no concern. After our first expedition to Sol Sanctum, we had to take care of a loose end; a couple kids that had heard far too much. We just had to make sure that they forgot what they heard."_

_ "And you believe that these are the same children from before? Why not kill them? Vale had been a disaster area and I assume it would've been easy to just kill them and cover it up as two more unfortunate casualties."_

_ "That was not why we were there," Menardi cut in. "Our mission was just to retrieve the Elemental Stars. We were not there to kill children." She motioned to the three Elemental Stars that still hovered over Alex's hand. "Besides, it seems that we were rewarded for it."_

_ Though Alex nodded in agreement, he felt something ugly make itself known inside of him: uncertainty. He did not like being uncertain but this latest revelation was bothering him. It was the revelation that as dedicated and relentless as his two partners may be in their quest to save Prox, they yet held compassion. That was a problem as Alex only saw this compassion as a limitation. It meant that there was something that would not allow the Proxians to do all that was necessary to complete their quest._

_ It made them a liability._

_ "Children or not," Alex spoke aloud, "they may end up being our enemies and we cannot allow them to stop us."_

_ "They are gnats to us," Saturos assured and his red eyes practically glowed with a sudden fire. "If they seek to challenge us they will fall."_

_ "But will they bring the Mars Star?" Menardi questioned._

_ "We gave them our terms," Alex replied._

_ He nodded his head towards Felix and Jenna where the younger sibling had long-since silenced her screams. Instead, Jenna was now clinging to her brother, her shoulders shaking in silent sobs. Felix was holding her just as tight, one hand running through her hair while he whispered words of comfort in her ear._

_ "If they want Jenna and Kraden back," he continued, unaffected by the scene, "they have to give us the Mars Star. If they do come for us, I can confidently say that they will bring it as well. Those two will prove to be useful tools."_

As will you, _Alex continued silently as he turned back to the Proxians, his face unreadable. _Tools have their uses but they can be tossed aside when they are no longer needed.

_And if Saturos and Menardi proved to be as expendable, he may yet have to find a new set of tools. He'll have to start thinking of replacements if the time ever came._

lllllllllllllllllllll

Amiti woke up just as he did in his room at Ayuthay; shaking and his body drenched in a cold sweat. He actually thought he was still in Ayuthay which didn't help his disorientation that he felt upon seeing not the familiar surroundings of his bedroom but the wooden furnishings of a standard ship bunk. Fortunately, the moment of panic passed quickly and Amiti felt himself relax.

This was a bunk on Eoleo's ship that the pirate king had assigned him for the trip. The same bunk, as Eoleo would inform him, that Amiti had slept in during their quest to stop the Grave Eclipse. Other then the bed that he slept in, the only thing in here was his pack that he had taken with him from Ayuthay which he had placed off to the side.

Calming himself, Amiti wiped the sweat from his brow.

_Why am I having these dreams?_

It was like the one that he had the same night that he encountered the assassin. Except this time he knew that these weren't dreams but memories; they had to be. In the last one he had seen the beginning of a long-completed quest and in this one the quest was already underway. The Sol Sanctum, the Elemental Stars, Saturos and Menardi, the future Warriors of Vale…Alex.

_Why him?_

He knew the answer to that but, ironically, the fact that Alex was his father did not give him a proper explanation. Ever since their first encounter face-to-face when Alex had seen fit to call himself Arcanus, it had only been a matter of time before Amiti would discover the connection that he had felt for a man that he was only meeting for the first time in his life.

And he didn't care. Nearly twenty years Amiti had been under the impression that there had only ever been his mother Veriti and she had passed away shortly after his birth. He had long-since believed that he had no father. And upon discovering his relationship with the infamous betrayer he had felt…nothing. Whatever blood connection that Amiti had to Alex had long-since been masked by the lies and the lack of contact between the two. It meant nothing to him.

Amiti had never even seen Alex/Arcanus again after the Apollo Sanctum. How he learned of that Alex was his father were the clues that he had uncovered himself. Tret's declaration of him being a descendant of Mia was the start and would eventually cause him to confront Rief about it when they had been recuperating at Belinsk. Shortly after they went their separate ways, Rief had spoken with his mother and gathered the necessary evidence that he would later present in the letter that would come to Amiti months later and declare him as the cousin of Rief and Nowell, the nephew of Mia, and the son of Alex.

It had been surprising but that had been it; surprising. Somewhere, somehow, Amiti had known deep in his heart that it had been true. And he did nothing about it. He had continued to rule as he had done for the past two years and not once had he given Alex a second thought.

_So why? _Amiti asked himself. _Why?_

That was the question here. He felt no connection to Alex so why was he looking upon his father's memories in the form of dreams? And why was it happening at the same time that an assassin would come for him and he would decide to take on this journey to Prox?

Prox. Everything had started at Prox. And it was where Amiti would start his search. But which answers was he going to be looking for? The ones that told him the origins of the assassin or the ones that would reveal to him if Alex was the traitorous, power-hungry monster that his dreams were making him out to be? He didn't know.

Sighing, Amiti shook his head in a vague attempt to clear his thoughts. And that was when he realized that someone was standing right behind the door to his bunk.

The Masamune was resting against his bed and Amiti immediately grabbed it as he stared warily at the door. It was the crack underneath it and the shadows that stretched out from beneath it as if someone was standing just beyond it. Amiti sat completely still in his bed, not even breathing as he tried to detect some kind of movement or some sound that may allow him to know who the intruder was.

Eoleo checking up on him? No, he would've opened the door by now. Some other pirate that was curious about their latest passenger? Maybe.

An assassin?

_No, _Amiti argued. _That's impossible. He couldn't have known that I would be here. And I had been the only one waiting on the coast when Eoleo arrived. There's no possible way that he's here._

But even as he tried to convince himself of it, he couldn't rule out that there may be someone behind the door that wished to do him harm. And if he was to confront him, best to do it himself and quickly. Whoever it was may not know that he was now awake or had even caught on to their presence. He had to keep the element of surprise and use it to his advantage.

Unsheathing the Masamune as silently as he could, Amiti looked back to the door and the shadows beneath it, expecting movement or whoever it was to make their move. They had yet to do so by the time Amiti slowly got off the bunk. And when he silently approached the door, the shadows were still there.

And when he opened the door, there was no one there.

Startled, Amiti nonetheless looked left and right, peering down the halls of the pirate ship to look for any sign that someone was still around. There was no one. There was only Amiti with his sword drawn and looking for an enemy that was not there.

_Am I going insane? _Amiti couldn't help but wonder.

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**Author's Note: **I really wish I hadn't lost the original draft. Not just because it meant that I had to rewrite everything but also because I COULDN'T rewrite everything. When I had been writing up the chapter that night, it had been after posting _Succession _so I had a lot of inspiration for me going to get this chapter done. And going back into the history where it was about the Elemental Stars and the Lighthouses and the Wise One, I just felt really inspired to write.

And then everything got erased and that inspiration was lost. Upon rewriting it, I knew that this wasn't going to be good as my original draft. Going through it, I definitely remember there being some things that I missed that I had originally and some parts that were a bit more expanded have been shortened because my loss of inspiration had badly handicapped me. But it's done and, as I said before, I hope you yet enjoy it!

As I wrote in _Succession_, I've come to the conclusion that I just can't stick to a strict schedule. Inspiration, as you can see, comes and goes and it's really all about the willpower to write that gets these chapters completely in not necessarily a speedy but certainly orderly an interesting fashion. My constant excuses, I admit, are starting to make me look rather sad and I know it's just unfair to my readers.

So for those of you who are just checking in, future chapters will be done when they're done. This could happen in one week or more than one. It really depends on a lot of things and inspiration is certainly one of them. Maybe I just need to dig out my old GBA and do a playthrough of the original Golden Sun games. We'll see. As for now, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll be seeing you in the next one!


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